{ "id": "ephqtvch9v", "slug": "swiri", "title": "Swiri (쉬리)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films", "label": "1990s films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers", "label": "Thrillers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers.yr-1996-1999", "label": "Released 1996 to 1999", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers.yr-1996-1999" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Asia (other) · 1946 to 2000: Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946", "label": "Asia (other) · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Swiri (쉬리, Shiri), 1999 South Korean espionage action film by Kang Je-gyu starring Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, and Kim Yun-jin; first Korean blockbuster, 6.2 million admissions, re-released in 4K in 2025.", "snippet": "Swiri (쉬리, Shiri), 1999 South Korean espionage action film by Kang Je-gyu starring Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, and Kim Yun-jin; first Korean blockbuster, 6.2 million admissions, re-released in 4K in 2025.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers.yr-1996-1999", "markdown": "# Swiri (쉬리)\n\n**Swiri** (쉬리, released internationally as *Shiri*) is a 1999 South Korean espionage action film directed by Kang Je-gyu that became the first Korean-produced blockbuster and is widely credited with starting the Korean film industry's commercial revival of the late 1990s and 2000s.[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) It opened in South Korea on 13 February 1999, starring [Han Suk-kyu](https://www.edgepedia.org/han-suk-kyu), Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, and Kim Yun-jin, and drew 6.2 million admissions by the distributor's count, then the highest Korean box-office result on record.[2](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-03-17.pdf)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 13 February 1999 (South Korea); 125 minutes; rated 15 and over[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) |\n| Director and cast | Kang Je-gyu; Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, Kim Yun-jin[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) |\n| Budget | 2.2 billion won, about 3 billion won including marketing, the largest for a Korean film at the time[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20250319120010910?f=m) |\n| Admissions | 6.2 million (distributor count); 6,805,000 total[2](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-03-17.pdf) • [1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) |\n| Industry role | First Korean blockbuster; Korean film market share rose from 25.1% in 1998 to 52.9% in 2003[2](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-03-17.pdf) • [4](https://www.kiep.re.kr/boardDownload.es?bid=0034&list_no=5626&seq=2) |\n| Awards | Grand prize (Daesang), best film, best director, and best actor at the 35th Baeksang Arts Awards; director award at the 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards[5](https://v.daum.net/v/9hwwQRdzSO) |\n| Revival | 4K remaster re-released in Japan (13 September 2024) and Korea (19 March 2025); on Netflix from 28 June 2025[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and characters\n\nThe film follows agents of OP, a South Korean state intelligence agency, as they hunt a North Korean special-forces cell operating in Seoul. Special agent Yu Jung-won (Han Suk-kyu) and his colleague Lee Jang-gil ([Song Kang-ho](https://www.edgepedia.org/song-kang-ho)) pursue Park Mu-young ([Choi Min-sik](https://www.edgepedia.org/choi-min-sik)), commander of a North Korean special 8th corps unit, along with South-infiltrated spies and a mole inside their own organization.[5](https://v.daum.net/v/9hwwQRdzSO) The female agent Lee Bang-hee (Kim Yun-jin), a sniper who has resumed assassinations, is revealed to be Yu Jung-won's lover, who runs an aquarium under another identity; the film's title refers to a fish native to Korea whose divided fate mirrors the peninsula's partition.[6](https://filmview.tistory.com/722)\n\nThe premise, in which the North Korean military sends a special unit to stage a terrorist attack in central Seoul ahead of an inter-Korean summit, was considered daring for its time.[2](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-03-17.pdf) Kang Je-gyu said he combined Hollywood espionage-action technique with a Korean story: he had become interested in inter-Korean themes while writing the screenplay for his debut film *Ginkgo Bed* (1996) in China, where conversations with North Korean exchange students gave him the material for the doomed love story between agents of the two sides.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20250319120010910?f=m)\n\n## Production\n\nShooting ran from 1997 to late 1998.[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) The production was financed by Samsung's video business unit, which invested 3.1 billion won, with [SK Telecom](https://www.edgepedia.org/sk-telecom) contributing 30 million won in sponsorship in exchange for promotional scenes, including a 011 placard behind the running hero and a text-message plot device.[7](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/2068423) • [8](https://www.etnews.com/199902260028) The budget of 2.2 billion won, or about 3 billion won with marketing, was the largest of any Korean film to that point.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20250319120010910?f=m)\n\nThe production imported real firearms from a United States company for the battle scenes; Kang recalled that the supplier demanded a deposit of roughly 300 million won because it did not consider Korea a reliable country for weapon return.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20250319120010910?f=m) The aquarium shootout used a specially commissioned tank that took three days to install, and extras playing South Korean commandos were cut by shattered glass when it was blown up.[9](https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/seoulPrintNew.php?id=19990306013003) During location shooting in central Seoul, residents mistook staged gunfire for real armed infiltrators and reported it to the police.[2](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-03-17.pdf)\n\nCasting drew early skepticism. Choi Min-sik, previously known for gentle young-man roles, was widely judged a miscasting choice for the villain during production, but his charismatic performance overturned those expectations.[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) The role of Lee Jang-gil was first considered for actor Cha In-pyo; Kang, impressed by Song Kang-ho's performance in *Number 3*, cast the then-newcomer with encouragement from Han Suk-kyu's older brother and Choi Min-sik.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20250319120010910?f=m)\n\n## Box office and industry impact\n\nThe film set records from its opening week. Nine days after release it had drawn 417,250 admissions in Seoul and 976,918 nationwide, averaging about 120,000 per day; its first-week Seoul total of 296,597 exceeded the 276,927 that *Titanic* had drawn in its opening week the previous year.[7](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/2068423) It passed one million admissions in the shortest time to that date, ten days after release.[8](https://www.etnews.com/199902260028) It ended its 119-day run on 11 June 1999 with 6.2 million admissions by the distributor's count, the highest Korean box-office result to that time, breaking *Titanic*'s record in Korea.[10](https://history.chosun.com/history/popup.jsp?id=19990916_0010) • [11](https://review.elantory.com/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC-%EB%A6%AC%EB%B7%B0/)\n\nThe financial returns reshaped the industry's economics. Han Suk-kyu received a 250 million won lump sum plus a running guarantee of 500 won per Seoul admission past 450,000, a package that could reach about 925 million won, comparable to the production cost of an ordinary film; his co-stars took flat fees of 50 to 80 million won.[12](https://www.kmib.co.kr/article/viewDetail.asp?newsClusterNo=01100201.19990227000003101) At one million admissions, investor Samsung's net profit was estimated at 1.7 to 1.8 billion won and the production company Kang Je-gyu Film's at about 1.2 billion won; theaters earned over 15 billion won over the run, and the production company about 7 billion won from theatrical revenue alone.[12](https://www.kmib.co.kr/article/viewDetail.asp?newsClusterNo=01100201.19990227000003101) • [10](https://history.chosun.com/history/popup.jsp?id=19990916_0010)\n\n**Industrial turning point.** Korean film histories treat the February 1999 release as the point at which the industry's industrialization began, marking the start of large-capital, technology-intensive production systems.[13](https://web.donga.com/pdf/pdf_viewer.php?vcid=2019032210W1101) • [14](https://www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20190702/96294528/4) After Shiri's success, Korean film admissions grew from 12.59 million in 1998 to 58.2 million in 2003, and the domestic market share rose from 25.1% to 52.9% over the same period; by April 2004 Shiri still ranked fourth among all-time Korean hits with 6.0 million admissions.[4](https://www.kiep.re.kr/boardDownload.es?bid=0034&list_no=5626&seq=2) Kang's success also carried his personal standing abroad: he was selected by Business Week as one of the \"50 Stars of Asia\" on the strength of the film.[15](https://dcollection.korea.ac.kr/public_resource/pdf/000000015420_20260214110123.pdf)\n\nThe film's influence reached popular culture and abroad. The kissing gourami featured in the story became a real pet-buying fad in Korea in 1999, and the Japanese game designer [Hideo Kojima](https://www.edgepedia.org/hideo-kojima), known for the [Metal Gear](https://www.edgepedia.org/metal-gear) series, has said the film inspired him while making *Metal Gear Solid 2*.[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) Its narrative formula, a threat to peace on the peninsula combined with melodrama and action spectacle, was later reused in films such as *Typhoon* (2005).[16](https://oak.go.kr/repository/journal/19926/NRF019_2011_v7n2_5.pdf)\n\n## Awards\n\nAt the 35th Baeksang Arts Awards the film won the grand prize, best film, best director, and best actor, and at the 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards it took the director award and the record for most admissions by a Korean film.[5](https://v.daum.net/v/9hwwQRdzSO)\n\n## The 25-year rights gap and re-release\n\nAfter the film's success, the investor-distributor Samsung's video business unit wound down its operations in the aftermath of the 1997 IMF financial crisis, and the film's intellectual property passed to [Samsung Electronics](https://www.edgepedia.org/samsung-electronics), where it was not actively managed.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20250319120010910?f=m) • [2](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-03-17.pdf) With no rights holder in a position to license it, the film could not be broadcast on television (beyond existing arrangements), released on Blu-ray, or streamed; until 2024 the only legal viewing options were imported or secondhand DVDs and videotapes.[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) A digital remaster with participation from the Korean Film Archive was shown in 2019, but wide availability waited until the rights problem was resolved in 2024, 25 years after release.[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94))\n\nThe 4K remastered version re-opened in Japan on 13 September 2024 and in South Korea on 19 March 2025, distributed by CJ ENM, the successor to Samsung's film business; VOD sales followed, with exclusive free streaming on TVING and a Netflix release on 28 June 2025.[1](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94)) The re-release drew a modest 5,415 admissions across 87 theaters in its Korean opening, part of a broader wave of remastered re-releases.[17](https://www.ilyo.co.kr/?ac=article_view&entry_id=489962) At a preview screening Kang Je-gyu described the film as one that had been hidden in a deep underground vault, said he felt like a parent finding a runaway child, and revealed that sequel proposals still arrive from Japan, where he has been working on a scenario for two years.[18](https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1008027519)\n\n## References\n\n1. [쉬리(영화), Namu wiki](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC(%EC%98%81%ED%99%94))\n2. [19일 재개봉하는 영화 '쉬리', K-media rods (2025)](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-03-17.pdf)\n3. [\"'탑건'도 35년 만에 속편 나왔는데\"… 26년 만에 재개봉 '쉬리'는, 한국일보 via Daum (2025)](https://v.daum.net/v/20250319120010910?f=m)\n4. [한국영화산업 보고서, 대외경제정책연구원 (KIEP, 2004)](https://www.kiep.re.kr/boardDownload.es?bid=0034&list_no=5626&seq=2)\n5. ['쉬리' 4K 리마스터링 재개봉 확정, 스포츠투데이 via Daum (2025)](https://v.daum.net/v/9hwwQRdzSO)\n6. [영화 쉬리(Swiri, 1999) 정보 줄거리 리뷰, filmview (2022)](https://filmview.tistory.com/722)\n7. [영화'쉬리'삼성영상사업단 살려, 매일경제 (1999)](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/2068423)\n8. [SK텔레콤, \"쉬리\" 흥행으로 어부지리식 홍보 효과, 전자신문 (1999)](https://www.etnews.com/199902260028)\n9. ['쉬리'를 만든 사람들, 서울신문 (1999)](https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/seoulPrintNew.php?id=19990306013003)\n10. [아카이브조선 소사, 조선일보 (1999)](https://history.chosun.com/history/popup.jsp?id=19990916_0010)\n11. ['쉬리' 리뷰: 한국 영화의 새 역사를 쓴 블록버스터의 전설, Elan's Honest Review (2025)](https://review.elantory.com/%EC%89%AC%EB%A6%AC-%EB%A6%AC%EB%B7%B0/)\n12. [대박터진 '쉬리' 돈방석 잔치, 국민일보 (1999)](https://www.kmib.co.kr/article/viewDetail.asp?newsClusterNo=01100201.19990227000003101)\n13. [한국영화 100년 타임라인, 동아일보 (2019)](https://web.donga.com/pdf/pdf_viewer.php?vcid=2019032210W1101)\n14. [한국영화 100년, 최고의 작품 '쉬리', 동아일보 (2019)](https://www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20190702/96294528/4)\n15. [강제규 감독 연구 논문, 한국대학교 학술자료](https://dcollection.korea.ac.kr/public_resource/pdf/000000015420_20260214110123.pdf)\n16. [<태풍>과 <쉬리>의 서사 비교, 한국학술연구 (2011)](https://oak.go.kr/repository/journal/19926/NRF019_2011_v7n2_5.pdf)\n17. [영화 재개봉-음악 리메이크 '우려먹기', 일요신문 (2025)](https://www.ilyo.co.kr/?ac=article_view&entry_id=489962)\n18. [강제규 감독 \"'쉬리' 재개봉, 집 나간 자식 찾은 기분\", SBS 뉴스 (2025)](https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1008027519)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1990s films › Thrillers › Released 1996 to 1999*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/swiri", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/swiri.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Swiri (쉬리)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/swiri. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Swiri (쉬리)](https://www.edgepedia.org/swiri)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/swiri](https://www.edgepedia.org/swiri). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Swiri (쉬리)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/swiri. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Swiri, 1999 South Korean espionage action film by Kang Je-gyu starring Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, and Kim Yun-jin; first Korean blockbuster, 6.2 million admissions, re-released in 4K in 2025." }